Valuing the Water

India today witnesses two phenomenon simultaneously- water business growing high & water entering into the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda of various companies. Is this business likely to crowd out public sector water distribution? Is this CSR indirectly aimed at muffling the dissent of community?

There are also claims that Indians do not value water, resulting in water pollution & indiscriminate waste of water. Pricing water is the only solution to inculcate proper usage of water

To get non industry views on the issue, Ashutosh Bhardwaj spoke to Bharti Patel, Director SVARAJ (Society for Voluntary Action, Revitalization & Justice). An informed leader of voluntary sector, she refutes the claim that Indians do not value water. She points instead of asking the question- who is polluting water, we are accepting the spread of bottled & treated water. She proposes true Public Private Partnership can flourish only when rights of the community assume centre stage.

She also cites the example of England, where water management and distribution is privatized, that privatization is no solution to water woes.

Obviously, Rajendra Singh is her most admired water leader. His vision & Gandhian philosophy to ensure water to community appeals her. She holds a BSc & a Law degree from London, where she spent considerable part of her life. She enjoyed The God of Small Things & The White Mogul. Currently she is reading Ramchandra Guha. She frequently travels to learn India.

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Lots of companies are now doing business in water. It is claimed since Indian public has contaminated its rivers & water bodies due to sheer ignorance, private business has stepped in to provide water. Do you find water being increasingly contaminated in India? Clearly we did not have home based RO systems earlier. We drank tap & river water and never caught up dreadful diseases.

I think this is the crux of the matter as far as water is concerned in this country. We have now started to think & believe that we will have access only to treated water. Therefore, we have accepted the status quo of polluted water.

Yes, it's true that water is increasingly being polluted but we are not asking the question who are the polluters & what are the pollutants

There are several layers here. It's not a very straightforward answer. Of course, untreated industrial waste increasingly enters water bodies but daily domestic sewage too, continues to enter our depleting sources for water. The concentration of this domestic sewage in water is much much great.

On top of that, agricultural practices of using chemical pesticides are also polluting bodies.

These polluted water bodies lead to all the kinds of diseases. People have come to believe that water treatment is a safe way rather than thinking that how do we make sure that our bodies are not contaminated in the first place.

It's important that we look for tackling the root cause of the problem. I believe private sector has a role to play in this because they are part of the group that is responsible for what's happening here. All stakeholders need to come together, ask themselves what is their responsibility in this.

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This debate about respective role of polluters is, clearly, not taking place. Is it to tacitly allow private players sell their bottled water at 15/- litre?

There is no doubt about it that this situation of contaminated water is seen as an opportunity to make money out of it. People treat water; sell it at good prices, making big profit out of it. Opportunities have arisen, they are capitalizing on it. You can't blame them either for it.

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They have every right to do their business.

Absolutely. They have the right to do business in water but whether bottled water is the only solution for water problems is an issue, we all, particularly the NGO community must think about. The government can not say that they are going to shy away from their responsibility of providing drinking water.

We need to come together & start a dialogue with corporate sector to tell them that this is not the only opportunity to enter the water market. There are many areas in water only, where you can have a business model & capitalize upon. There are many areas in water treatment itself. They can develop technologies for treatment of industrial waste & domestic sewage. They need to think beyond the narrow vision they have today.

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Do you expect them to respond positively? I get a feeling that it is in their commercial interest to sale bottled water & it is also in their interest not to let this informed debate take place on water

Absolutely. The whole idea of bringing the community by the Corporates appears to be an effort to placate NGOs & community to claim that their water business is not just a business model; it has social concerns too. We are seriously concerned about providing safe water to community.

However, I do not think they can kid the community. People are much smarter & intelligent than they consider. But, community is very vulnerable, particularly the poor ones. Their need to access safe water is of paramount importance. The organisations like ours are very active in raising real issues of vulnerable communities.

We need to engage corporate sector in a dialogue. We need to raise the consciousness of the industry that they can not fool us. They must realize that if they are going to bring communities into true partnerships, then the community need for affordable drinking water should be fulfilled.

It means that there is not going to be much profit to make out of treating drinking water. They need to think other forms to make profits & certainly not the drinking water.

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Industry is keen on making profit out of drinking water; it does not appear to be concerned at huge effluents it generates daily, most of which goes untreated to water bodies & pollute them.

Right. They have not set their own house in order.

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You just used a wonderful phrase-"industry is placating NGOs." Do you find corporate, through their water CSR, try to pacify the community & muffle up the dissent? Do you buy their tall statements on community & water service when they speak in Gandhian tone from various forums & conferences?

I am not saying that entire corporate sector is devilish. I do not think we can afford to be anti-corporate. Economic vibrancy, which is very important for India, is driven by corporate sector. They have a big role to play.

But, I do not buy their line that they are entering the water sector to benefit the poor. I do believe that they are entering because there is money to be made here. They have seen the money Bisleris, Coca Colas & Pepsis have made here. But, I do believe there will be challenges to them at each stage. The community is much much more smarter & clever. If they try to outsmart the community, that wouldn't be in their interest. If they are seriously concerned with water, they must do it in true spirit of partnership.

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How can we evolve to a situation, where corporate enter into water with a genuine interest to benefit poor, though not in a philanthropic way. They can have genuine commercial interests too.

The ideal situation would be where corporate sector does not expect return on investment they make with the communities in rural areas. They need not ensure treated water but plain, safe drinking water. They can help upliftment of marginalized, especially dalit communities. For instance, they can engage with government & panchayats to ensure that the village water bodies-river or pond-they are getting cleaned, is accessed by all, irrespective of caste & religion.

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Your proposition is not about just water sensitive, it's socially equitable. Water can be a tool to usher in social revolution.

That's a very good point you have made. Through water you can uplift communities. Right now we are debating the pricing of water. They claim Indians do not value water. I think Indians by nature give lots of value to water.

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You are right. It's not plain water or pani for Indians. Most of the Indians respect it & term it Jal.

Absolutely. We have always valued water. Just because someone is going to be charged some amount for water does not mean one starts valuing it more. We mustn't accept the argument which says that only pricing values water. We have to talk about the fact that Indians have always valued water. Recently the way economy has moved forward, water has devalued.

I do not agree that Indians do not value water.

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The PPP(Public Private Partnership) model which has evolved so far does not take care of common man. How can we bring a model which benefits him?

The community & their water needs must be in the centre right from the conception of PPP. It must not be planned in ivory tower buildings. Community must be invited to the table from the outset & their contribution ought to be valued. They must be involved throughout the conception, design & implementation stage.

We always forget that India has huge indigenous knowledge. That is only because it is not written in English language; we dismiss it that it's not relevant. Corporate sector, if they are serious about it, need to bring in indigenous knowledge & acknowledge the actual sources.

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You have spent considerable period of your life in London, studied there. Margret Thatcher privatized lots of industries, invited private players to provide water. How the situation has improved there? Is privatization of water a solution?

We also have the huge problem of water in England. Of course, government has decided that it no longer wants to take responsibility of managing & distributing water. Water is privatized. Conservative government of Thatcher decided it; Labor government did not change it. However, privatization projects have failed despite promises that prices will not go up.

Nevertheless, regulations are much better in London than in India. Therefore, you can hold the private sector little bit more accountable. But the prices are going up because it is a monopoly. You have no choice, you need water, can't switch to anything else.

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Monopoly? Is there only one company operating in water?

No..no…no- there are plenty. By monopoly I meant in terms of source itself. There are many companies in distribution but prices have gone up. Large amount of water is being lost through leakages. It refutes the claim of private companies to be absolutely efficient.

In fact, private sector is not investing because it costs to check the leaks & plugs. They know the water is available in plenty, therefore leakage is not their concerns. But that's not a good approach. They have abused their business model at the cost of this precious resource-water.

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Other day, I spoke to an expert from Singapore. He told about enormous R&D Singapore companies undertake to check leakages. And that's because water is precious there. What lesson India can learn from international experiences?

First, how do we make sure that there is a true PPP partnership- not just in name- where deliveries, leakages, voices of consumers, all such aspects are taken care of.

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Perhaps the biggest lesson is that private sector is no panacea for all water problems.

Definitely, not a panacea. Many private projects which the World Bank actually promoted have not worked.

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Give us the examples-which projects did not click.

I heard the Manila one was successful. But, I do know that Manila has failed. It failed to provide water to the poorest community. Delhi, too rejected private sector coming in. There are lots of arguments against private sector, however, I do believe you just can't rely totally on public sector to provide water. There is time for us to have true PPP.

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What's your water philosophy?

I believe water is a Fundamental Right for life in all forms & therefore it needs to be preserved in its purest form. Everyone amongst us needs to take responsibility & ask a question- is my action, directly or indirectly going to affect the water availability in my surroundings.

It's the Gandhian way too. He had a similar Talisman.
Thank you so much Bharti for sharing your vision.

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Interviewed by :
Ashutosh Bhardwaj
IndianNGOs.com

Interview courtesy : IndiaWaterPortal
Visit www.IndiaWaterPortal.org
A Gateway of Knowledge on Water

28 Nov 2007
Hyderabad